towpath

[ toh-path, -pahth ]

/ ˈtoʊˌpæθ, -ˌpɑθ /

noun, plural tow·paths [toh-path z, -pahth z, -paths, -pahths] /ˈtoʊˌpæðz, -ˌpɑðz, -ˌpæθs, -ˌpɑθs/.

a path along the bank of a canal or river, for use in towing boats.

Nearby words

townspeople, townsville, townswoman, townwear, towny, towpath, towrope, towsack, towser, towson, towy

Origin of towpath

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90; tow¹ + path

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for towpath

On and on they went, stumbling and flying through the moonlit wood to the towpath.
Diane of the Green Van|Leona Dalrymple
The mules took fright, got into a regular mixup, broke the harness, and went up the towpath at a two-forty gait.
Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail|Ezra Meeker
A farmer rode down the towpath and invited us to go to his house for the night.
Sometub's Cruise on the C. & O. Canal|John Pryor Cowan
On either side of the towpath were farms and gardens, with a house set here and there amid the green fields or orchards.
The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat|Grace Brooks Hill

Then in deadly silence Mr. Poynter reduced his treacherous assailant to a battered hulk upon the towpath.
Diane of the Green Van|Leona Dalrymple

British Dictionary definitions for towpath

towpath

/ (ˈtəʊˌpɑːθ) /

noun

a path beside a canal or river, used by people or animals towing boatsAlso called: towing path

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012